|
|
Recovery From Schizophrenia
by
Louise Loots Thornton Editors Note: The
following article is an excerpt from Finding Hope in Schizophrenia:
Healing and Hope for Everyone In the Family by Louise Loots Thornton.
Thornton is the mother of three children.
Two have been diagnosed with mental illness. Her son, diagnosed with
schizoaffective disorder, has been living with the symptoms for over 20 years.
Her daughter has a dual diagnosis and severe depression.
Louise has been a member of NAMI-SCC for over 15 years and co-teaches the
Journey of Hope class in Watsonville. She
is an English teacher at Gavilan College. Dear
families and friends, When
someone you love is very ill with schizophrenia, it may be almost impossible to
believe this person can recover. She
or he may be so out of touch with reality, seemingly lost to you, that you may
be afraid you will never get this person back. Psychiatrists may not be able to
help you, because they often have too many patients, and because they see these
individuals when they are most ill, it is easy for them to conclude that
recovery from schizophrenia is rare.
If you turn to the literature on this illness, you may find nothing to
give you hope. First person
accounts often end in suicide. The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV, the standard for diagnosis of
schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, describes the illness with such dark
and devastating language that you may feel any hopes you have for your ill
family member are based in delusion. Despite
this, we must keep alive the hope that recovery is possible.
There is reason to hope! Half
to three fourths of all those with schizophrenia recover.
This does not mean that they are cured or that the illness goes into
complete remission, although this has happened in some instances.
It means that over time, in an often long, difficult process, individuals
come to terms with their illness. They
learn how to accept it and then how to move beyond it, to believe in every cell
of their being that they are not "schizophrenic," defined solely by an
illness. They are
individuals, whole and complete in themselves, with strengths as well as
limitations, with the capacities to love and be loved, to work and to find joy
and meaning in their lives despite an illness. Time,
in itself, is on our side. With
treatment, schizophrenia often becomes less severe as an individual grows older.
Those in their 30's tend to do better than those in their 20's,and those
in their 40's and 50's may do better still.
Dr. Cynthia Harding, a strong advocate of the possibility of recovery,
attributes this to the plasticity of the brain.
"Mother Nature is always trying to correct itself from mid-age
onward," she explained at a 1999 California NAMI conference.
(I am greatly indebted to Dr. Harding for much of the following material,
which came from this lecture.) As
time goes by, individuals may also learn how to cope with symptoms and gain
other skills to help them lead productive lives. Over
time, there may also be a change in a diagnosis as certain symptoms become
greater or lesser. If a
diagnosis changes, the medications may change, and in time the right medication
or combination of medications may finally make a difference.
My son's initial diagnosis was paranoid schizophrenia, and he was given
the typical medications used at this time, Navane and Prolixin.
They reduced his psychosis but they left him "zoned out."
His muscles became so stiff he could hardly move.
After a while, his psychiatrist took him off these and tried lithium,
often prescribed for bipolar disorder. It
had no effect and he was put back on the original medications.
Years later I asked another psychiatrist why he thought lithium had been
prescribed when my son did not have bipolar disorder.
"His doctor was probably hoping that he did…" he answered and
then paused, "It's an
easier illness to treat." Later,
as my son became more lucid and present, another psychiatrist noted that he had
definite mood swings, so his diagnosis was changed to schizoafffective disorder.
When the newer medications became available; he tried them, one by one, and
while they produced fewer side effects, his mood did not change.
He was often depressed and irritable.
I convinced his psychiatrist to add an anti-depressant, and my son zoomed
into mania. When this wore off,
depression seeped into his body once more.
Finally, I took him to see yet another psychiatrist, and this doctor
added lithium to his list of medications. This
time it worked! His moods evened
out and he became much more focused, even happy.
While I am sad for all the years that my son had to endure this trial and
error process, I am immensely grateful that his doctors have found a combination
of medications that enables him to create a satisfying life for himself.
This
long process has shown me that we are not alone in our struggle to hold on to
hope. We are always in the minds
and hearts of those dedicated scientists who are continually trying to learn
more about schizophrenia and its affects on the brain. Still others are attempting to create more effective
medications with fewer side affects. In
time, with the help of sophisticated technology, it might be possible to tell
which of "the group of
schizophrenias" an individual has, even which medication or combination of
medications would be most effective. As
we, professionals and family members alike, continue to hold the candle of hope
for those who are ill with schizophrenia, we penetrate the darkness so often
enveloping these individuals with points of light. If they say, "I'll never, ever feel any better!" We
don't tell them that we are terrified and they are right.
We tell them something like, "I know you have every reason to feel
that way, but I still have hope for you."
And as we stand at the end of the tunnel, holding the candle, we guide
them; tell them that even though they do not believe in themselves, we do.
We tell them we are positive that in time they will find their way out of
the darkness, and then they will hold candles for all those who follow them. Long-term
Studies Documenting Recovery From Schizophrenia Recovery
from schizophrenia has been documented by a number of studies tracing the course
of the illness over a number of years, as many as 35.
Before these studies were completed, the "rule of thirds" was
in place: it was believed that one
third of those with schizophrenia needed to be hospitalized all their lives,
another third was hospitalized intermittently and the remaining third was able
to live fairly well with extensive support.
No one, it was believed, could recover.
In these more recent studies, 50% to 68% recovered!
Following are some of these studies and their results.
All
of these studies strongly suggest that there is not one, predictable outcome for
an individual who has schizophrenia. Rather,
there may be a variety of outcomes depending on the particular type of
schizophrenia one has, the kind of treatment one receives and other variables
such as one's innate personality. Dr.
Harding has called this the “…ever widening heterogeneity across decades of
outcome." The
Faces of Recovery Even
more convincing of the possibility of recovery are the lives of individuals who
have healed enough to lead full, even astonishing, lives. Some time ago I had one of those students that every teacher
dreams of ---- mature, eager to learn and brilliant. Jason's writings were so vivid and brutally honest that I
wanted to read them to the class and say, "Listen! This is how to write!"
When he did read his essay, describing his attempts to kill himself
because the voices had commanded him to, his small group was struck dumb, not
knowing quite how to respond. Then
one of the students said, "That was the best writing I've ever heard."
For
the past year, I have had another student, Mark, who also has schizophrenia,
except I did not learn this until recently. For months I thought of Mark as a
very intelligent, likeable old hippie. He
wears his long hair tied back, remembers Woodstock with such fondness and
creates amazing psychedelic computer art. He
also likes to write off-the-wall poetry, has a great sense of humor and quite
often has a 4.0 average, despite carrying as many as 18 hours!
Then one day I brought in some of my writings about my son, and at the
beginning of the next class he announced, ” I have schizophrenia and I wrote
about it." He asked someone to
read his writings, something he had never done before, because they were so
painful. We learned that he
struggles throughout every, single day with hallucinations and thoughts of
suicide, and every, single time these suicidal thoughts invade his mind, he must
decide all over again to live. He
was afraid we wouldn't like him anymore after we found out that he has this
illness. "I like you even more," one student after another told him,
and then one by one spoke of their own darkness.
There
are many others who have recovered from schizophrenia, and some of them are
quite extraordinary. One of these
individuals is Pat Deegan. When she
was told at 17 that she had schizophrenia and there was no hope of recovery, she
refused the diagnosis and its bleak outlook.
She decided she would become Dr. Deegan to prove that she was still a
person with hopes and dreams. Her
doctors thought she had delusions of grandeur, but she persisted in what she
calls her "survivor vision," believing she had found the calling for
her life. She received a doctorate
in psychology and is today one of the strongest advocates in the recovery
moment. One of her many projects is
finding the unmarked graves of those who died while in mental institutions and
putting up markers for them, letting the universe that they were once alive. Another
remarkable individual is Dr. Fred Frese, a loving husband and father, as well as
the Director of Psychology, Western Reserve Psychiatric Hospital in Northfield,
Ohio, who also has schizophrenia. At
a NAMI conference I attended, he told a story coming out of his own teaching
experience. He walked into a large
lecture hall where his students were all seated and asked anyone who had spent
time in a locked ward, dirty and disheveled, to please stand.
When no one stood, he said, "Well, since I'm the only standing, I
must be the only one who has!" He
believes that being open about his experiences and his ability to function well
between hospitalizations enables others with schizophrenia to believe, "If
he can do it, so can I." There
are many, many other individuals who have recovered from schizophrenia enough to
lead fairly normal lives, marry, have children and work at something they enjoy.
We need to recognize these individuals and think of them whenever we feel
hopeless. Those of us who are not
ill with schizophrenia, who are "chronically normal," as Fred Frese
has noted, must remember that recovery can be a very long, slow process and that
it often consists of two steps forward and one step back. It is hope that
sustains us in this dance that is the underlying melody that moves like an
invisible force through the dancers as well as the dance itself. What
Recovery May Look Like Most
of the definitions of recovery include the following processes.
Note: while this list pertains to those who have schizophrenia, it
pertains just as much to family members seeking their own recovery from the
effects of this illness.
Additional
Information Partners in Recovery - Panel: Integrating Psychiatry into the Recovery Process, at the Adult System of Care Conference, April 26-28, 2000, in Santa Clara. The key note speakers were Jay Mahler, an activist in the consumer survivor movement, and Patricia Deegan Ph. D., Director of Training at the National Empowerment Center. Someone Believes in Me - Article by Dan Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., author of PACE: Personal Assistance in Community Existence - An Alternative to P/ACT, about the strength of healing that people who have significantly recovered from mental illness received from having someone believe in them. Wellness Action Recovery Plan- Notes from a recent talk by B. J. North and Sharon Kuehn, on WRAP: The Wellness Action Recovery Plan, a program of self-help and recovery started by Mary Ellen Copeland, a mental health recovery educator and author. Sharon Kuehn Recovery from Schizophrenia is possible - A very large group of consumers has achieved remarkable recovery. They are people who, in spite of ongoing symptoms, have carved out a life. - From Monitor on Psychology, Feb. 2000Studies show that early intervention in schizophrenia may forestall the worst long-term outcomes for this devastating brain disorder. Schizophrenia
- A handbook for families - published by Health Canada, this
approaches treatment with more than just medication. |
|
Opinions expressed in this web site do not necessarily reflect the views of NAMI Santa Cruz County, NAMI California or any affiliated organizations. We attempt to present a balanced perspective on issues by presenting multiple viewpoints. Copyright 2005 National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Santa Cruz County, All Rights Reserved. FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted (©) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
